you surely you would have an â—ndeared Love to such a friend and Benefactor Your sins are Debts beyond the vastest summe of Money that ever was ow'd or pay'd and you are not able to pay one farthing to give the least satisfaction unto God unto whom you are indebted and God is severe and strictly just and without full satisfaction to his Justice he will throw you into a worse Prison than the most nasty dolesom Prison on Earth I mean into the Prison of Hell where you must lie without the least relief or any hopes of release The Lord Jesus Christ proffers to be your Surety to pay off all for you and to give you a full discharge were you sensible what a Debt Sin is and what a Prison Hell is surely it would work your hearts unto an endeared Love of such a Friend and Surety who alone can keep you out of this dolesome dreadfull Prison into which without him you will certainly and may suddenly be thrown If any of you were sick of a Death-threatning distemper and you had made use of many Physicians but none could do you good and if you should hear of one Physician who could assuredly and would readily and freely cure your Disease and save your Life surely you would thankfully make use of this Physician and his kindness would exceedingly engage your Love Sin is the Souls sickness you are sick unto death Sin when it is finished will bring forth Death not only Temporal but Eternal It is the Lord Jesus Christ onely that can cure you of this deadly Sickness that can remove your Sin and thereby deliver you from this Death of Deaths Get a sense of the dangerous sickness of Sin and you will prize and use and love the Lord Jesus Christ who is the onely Physician of value in this case If any of you were guilty of Murder or Theft or High Treason or any other heinous breach of the Law of the Land for which you were apprehended arraigned accused and condemned to be Hanged or Burned or to a more tormenting Death than either and if you should hear of a Prince at Court that had begg'd the Pardon of such Crimes for such Malefactors and had obtained and he should send to you to signifie his willingness to do the like for you surely you would thankfully accept of such a proffer and would love this Prince as your life who should thus preserve you from Death You are all Guilty of high Treason and Rebellion against the King of Heaven in your breach of his Law and you are condemned by this Law not to be hanged for it or beheaded but to be burn'd for it to be burn'd in the Fire of Hell which is unquenchable The Lord Jesus Christ is the Prince of Glory a Friend in the Court of Heaven who hath procured a Pardon for many such malefactors and sendeth to you to signifie his willingness to procure your Pardon if you will make use of him Surely if you have a sense of your Crime and Danger you will apply your selves unto Christ to save you and you will not withhold your Love from such a one as should shew you such unparallel'd Favour 3. If you would attain true Love unto Christ you must get an Interest in Christ you must lay hold on Christ by Faith that you may be united to him and related to him It is Faith that works Love to them that believe Christ is precious but by Unbelievers he is sleighted and cannot be beloved without Union to Christ you will have no affection to Christ the foundation of Love is layd in the Relation to the Beloved and this Union to and Interest in Christ it is only by Faith If then you would embrace Christ in the arms of your Love you must first lay hold on Christ and receive him by the hand of Faith Whatever Motives and Attractives of Love there be in Jesus Christ they will be none to you without this Interest and Relation Christ is a Person most beautifull most lovely aâ—d amiable but he will not be so in your eyes so long as you are without the eye of Faith he is great and powerfull but so much the worse for you because without Interest in him his power is engaged against you he is pure and holy and whilest in your sins you are therefore the more odious in his sight he is wise and knoweth all things therefore is privy to all your sins he is most true and therefore will fulfill his threatnings against such as go on still in their trespasses he is full but you without interest in his Person have no share in his fulness he is kind but it is to those that are related to him but what is this to you that are Unbelievers he is a Shepheard to his Sheep but you are Goats he is a Captain to his Souldiers but you are Enemies he is a Teacher to his Disciples but you are the Devils Scholars he is a Gracious Soveragin but it is to his Subjects you are rebells He is a Priest to his People having made satisfaction and doth make intercession for them but you trample his blood under his feet He is a Friend and Benefactor to his People but you are Strangers he is a Brother and a Husband to his People but you stand in none of these Relations he is a Redeemer to his People but your are Slaves and Captives The light which he gives is most sweet but you are darkness the life which he imparts is most excellent but you are dead in sins and trespasses he gives pardon of sin but you are under guilt he gives Peace of Conscience but your Consciences are still wounded and â—eared he gives the Joyes of the Holy Ghost but you are in danger of Eternal woes the Robes of his Righteousness are most Rich but you are naked the Riches of his Grace are inestimable but you are still poor the dignity of being made the Sons of God is most admirable but you are Children of the Devil he gives accesse unto God in Prayer but you are still at a distance he gives a Title to the Kingdom of Heaven but if you continue in your present state you will be shut at last out of the Pallace which is above and be thrust down into the Prison of Hell which is below What then are all these motives to draw forth love to Christ unto you that have no interest in Christ it is Union and Relation unto Christ and interest in him by Faith which puts life into these motives that they may indeed attract love O then be perswaded without further delay to endeavor after this interest in Christ you must have it or you are lost irrecoverably you will be miserable Eternally and you may attain this interest others have attain'd it as mean and as vile as your selves and you are called unto Christ O be perswaded then to come unto Christ and joyn your selves by Faith unto him that you may
put life into your love will he send his Angels to convey your souls into his presence when separated from our Bodies and shall not your Hearts get to him and lodge with him before will he raise up your Bodies at the last day and will not the hopes of this raise up your Affections shall you be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the Air will Christ there own and crown you and will not the believing fore-thoughts of this ravish your Hearts with love to Christ and transport you with unspeakable joy the strength of Christ's love to you methinks should engage your love for him not only in the the Truth of it but also in the strength of it 4. Consider that Christ loveth you with the surest love Some Friends may love you a while with some kind of strength and ardency but such differences may arise between you as shall soon weaken and cool their love and of Friends they shall prove strangers yea become Enemies unto you or if their love doth abide it is not sure because they may not abide if their Love dye not whilst they live They may soon dye and then their love is at an end but the love of the Lord Jesus Christ unto you is the most Sure love if he begin to love you he will continue to love you if he love you once he will love you to the end or rather without end the love of Christ is not subject to mutations and changes like unto ours if you 〈◊〉 in your love he will not fail in his love and though you offend him he is not irreconcileable he may indeed upon unkindness on your side withdraw the manifestations of his love for a while but he will never wholly remove his love from you the love of Christ admits of no changing knows no ending Christians what motives can you find in any person or any thing in the world which you have seen comparable to those which you have in this Lord Jesus Christ though you have never seen him He is a Person most amiable in himself his Greatness his Holiness his Wisdome his Faithfulness his Fulness his Kindness do make him shine with an admirable lustre his Relation to the Father and the love which the Father doth bear to him his Relation unto you being your Shepherd your Captain your Teacher your Advocate your Soveraign your Benefactor your Brother your Husband your Redeemer all these do commend him to your love but when matchlesse beauty and lovliness do meet in a person that doth bear matchless love to you when this most amiable Lord Jesus doth love you with such a free love such a cordial love such a strong and active love such a sure and constant love when his love is incomparable surpassing all other love and incomprehensible surpassing all knowledge O with what activity ardour and constancy should you love so suitable an object SECT XIII THe third sort of motives to excite your love unto Christ may be drawn from the consideration of Christs Benefits If you are true Christians you have 1. Spiritual Light from Christ. 2. Spiritual Life from him 3. The Pardon of sin from him 4. The Robes of Righteousness from him 5. The Peace of Conscience from him 6. The Joyes of the Holy Ghost from him 7. The Riches of Grace from him 8. The Dignity of Children from him 9. The Spirit of Prayer from him 10. Title to the Kingdom of Heaven with the first Fruits and fore-tastes of it from him here and shall be put into the possession of it by him hereafter 1. You have Spiritual light from Christ Christ is the Sun from whom all the beams of this light do come time was when you were not only in the dark but darkness but Jesus Christ did enlighten you Eph. 5. 8. For ye were sometimes darkness but now are yee light in the Lord walk as Children of the light it is Christ that hath turned you from darkness to light that hath translated you out of darkness into his marvellous light he hath caused a marvellous light to shine into your minds whereby he hath discovered to you the wonderful things of the Law that thereby you might discern the odious nature of Sin and whereby he hath discovered to you the wonderful mysteries of the Gospel that thereby you might discern the excellency of Gospel-priviledges and the exceeding Riches of Gods Grace and Kindness through Jesus Christ. Christ hath opened your Eyes to see the chiefest evil that you might be delivered from it and the chiefest good and happiness that you might attain unto it And doth not this light which you have from Christ call for your love If the man that was born blind and was cured of his natural darkness by Christ did love Christ for this favour so as boldly to plead for him before the Pharisees though he were for it cast out of the Synagogues as you may read in Iohn 9. How much more reason have you to love Christ who hath cured you of your Spiritual darkness which had it continued you would have gone blindfold to Hell where there it blackness of darkness for ever 2. You have Spiritual life from Christ you were Spiritually dead and Christ hath quickned you Eph. 2. 1. You hath he quickned who were dead in sins and trespasses We read that Christ raised Lazarus from the dead after he had been buried four dayes Iohn 11. Lazarus did love Christ before but no doubt this Resurrection of him so wonderfully did endear his love to Christ exceedingly and shall not Christs raising you up from your Spiritual death raise your Hearts unto a great height of love to Christ you will greatly love one that is instrumental to save your natural life when in great hazard and danger especially if he should do it by venturing his own and will you not greatly love Christ who hath given you Spiritual life which is far more excellent than the life of Nature and when he dyed that you might live and when if you had not received this Spiritual life from him you could not have escaped eternal Death 3. You have the pardon of sin from Christ this Christ hath purchased for you and the purchase hath cost him dear even his blood which was of more worth than the treasures were there so many of ten thousand worlds this Christ hath sued out for you by his intercession at the right hand of God Whilst you were under the guilt of sin you were bound over by the Justice of God to suffer the vengeance of Eternal Fire but being pardoned your obligation to future punishment is taken off and you are no more lyable to wrath to come and the vengeance of Hell than if you had never siâ—n'd And will you not love the Lord Jesus Christ who hath procured for you so great a priviledge we read of one that had much forgiven her and she loved much Luk. 7. 47. and have not you had
separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or disiress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword Nay in all these things we are more than conquerours through him that loved us And you may be perswaded as Paul was and greatly rejoyce therein that as v. 38 39. Neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor heighth nor depth nor any other Creature shall be able to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Iesus your Lord. If you know that Christ doth love you you may know assuredly that your Prayers have audience with God that whatever imperfections and sinfull mixtures they have yet that they are mingled with the sweet Incense of Christ's Merits through which they are persumed and accepted and what comfort is this that whatever you ask of the Father in the Name of your dear Lord Jesus if it be for his Glory and your good he will certainly procure it for you To conclude If you know that Christ doth love you you may know assuredly that you are Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven and that as certainly as you are alive you shall attain eternal Felicity in the Beatifical Vision and Fruition of your Lord as certainly as you have the first Fruits so certainly shall you have the Harvest as certainly as you have the Earnest so certainly shall you have the Inheritance as certainly as you see Christ by Faith here so certainly shall you have the Beatifical Vision of his Person and Glory in Heaven and be made perfectly happy in the eternal and full Enjoyment of him O how should you then rejoyce in the Lord rejoyce in his Person rejoyce in his Love rejoyce in his Benefits rejoyce in what you have and rejoyce in what you hope to have by him rejoyce in what you see now and feel now and taste now and rejoyce in the foresights and foretastes of your Happiness to come Rejoyce in the Lord always and again I say Rejoyce 2. If you have Manifestations of Christs Love unto you Admire his Free Grace in these Manifestations as Ioh. 14. 22. when Christ had promised to manifest himself unto such as love him Iudas not Iscariot he was the Traytor and had no true love to his Master but Iudas the Brother of Iames saith to him Lord how is it that thou wilt manifest thy self unto us and not unto the World This Question is not a Question of Enquiry concerning the Way and Manner how Christ would manifest himself unto them but it is a Question of Admiration concerning the Thing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What is done or What is come to pass How is it or Whence is it His Question did not expect an Answer neither do we find any to it but onely expressed his Wonder that Christ should manifest himself unto them And how should you wonder then that the Lord Jesus should manifest himself unto you That the Lord Jesus whose Name is Wonderfull and hath so many Wonders in him a Person of so great Eminency and Excellency who hath such a Crown of Glory upon his Head such Robes of Glory upon his Back and on the Vesture of his Garment and his Thigh a Name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords that this most excellent Person should manifest himself unto You such as You when he conceals himself from the greatest Princes of the Earth who by their Interest Authority and Influence might that highly promote his Glory he should manifest himself unto You who for the most part are low and mean poor and despised in the World that when he hideth himself from most of the Wise and Prudent and great Scholars in the world who by their Parts and Learning might magnifie his Name and spread his Fame he should manifest himself unto you who for the most part are persons of mean parts and Education that when Christ hideth himself from many Moralists who have escaped the grosser Pollutions which are in the World he should reveal and manifest himself unto you some of whom before Conversion were notoriously guilty of most foul sins that when Christ manifesteth himself unto so Few that you should be in the Number of those Few how many wonders are here That this Glorious Person should send down another Glorious Person I mean the Holy Ghost from Heaven which is more than if he had sent down all the Glorious Angels which are in Heaven to make this Discovery of himself unto you That he should make use of the Foolishnesse of Preaching as a Means to effect this great thing that while a man of like passions and infirmities with your selves is opening and applying the Scriptures the Lord by this means should unveil himself and open the treasures of his Love unto you that your humble fervent and believing prayers here on Earth should ascend up to the throne of God that is in Heaven and move the Lord Jesus that is there to come down thence though not in person yet by his Spirit that prayer should open heavens gate and have such a prevalency for this manifestation and discovery of Christ though the best prayers of the best men are not without mixture of sin that whilst you are sitting at the Lords table the Lord himself should give you a visit and whilst you are eating bread and wine at the Sacrament he should give you to see and feel and taste himself and his Love by your spiritual senses It was wonderful humiliation in Christ that when he could have commanded the most stately Horses yea Lions Elephants or Unicorns he should ride to Ierusalem upon an Ass and when Christ hath the Chariots of so many thousand glorious Angels which he could command and ride triumphantly in when he makes discovery of himself unto his people that he should make use of the Chariots of so mean Ordinances in the discovery of himself unto you how many wonders are here how should you admire his wonderful Grace and Love and say what is man that thou art thus mindful of him or any of the sons of men that thou shouldst thus visit them what are we unworthy wretches and why shouldst thou manifest thy self unto us even so dear Jesus because it seemed good in thy sight especially you have reason to wonder and admire at the manifestations which Christ hath given of himself and love to you when you consider the excellency of these manifestations and discoveries beyond all other discoveries If you have seen the most rare works of Art and Human Invention the most curious Pictures the most stately Edifices or any other works of the most ingenious contrivement If you have viewed the works of nature which do far exceed those of Art the beautiful frame of the Heavens over your heads and the glorious Luminaries of Sun Moon and Stars in their wonderful light and motion the Earth under your feet when it hath got on its best attire when the
be not sanctified thorowly they are sanctified in every part though they are not sanctified in the highest degree Their whole Spirit is sanctified that is the higher faculties of the soul namely the understanding and the will their understandings are enlightned by the Spirit unto a Spiritual discerning both of good and evil beyond what any natural man doth oâ— can attaâ—n unto their wills are bowed or rather rectified and made straight being enclined unto God and his Law Their Souls are sanctified in the inferior faculties in all the affections belonging both to the concupiscible and the irrascible appetite their liking affections of love desire delight and hope are towards God and Christ and things above their disliking affections of hatred fear grief and anger are towards sin Their bodies also are sanctifyed being made members of Christ and instruments of Righteousness their eyes ears tongues hands feet and every part being devoted to God and made use of for his glory Thus true Christians are sanctified by the spirit And they are sanctified unto obedience the graces which are wrought by the spirit in their hearts do appear in the obedience of their lives the course of their lives in a course of obedience unto the laws of Christ they are sanctified unto obedience and they are sanctified unto sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ God hath set them apart to be sprinkled with the blood of the immacâ—late Lamb who takes away sin that they might be pardoned and saved such are true Christians who love Christ whom they have not seen Section II. Secondly COncerning the object of true Christians Love and that is Jesus Christ whom they have never seen This Jesus Christ whom they love is the Eternal Son of God the second Person in the glorious Trinity who in time assumed our Humane Nature clothed himself with our mortal Flesh lived like a servant in a mean condition died like a malefactor the cursed Death of the Cross and all for our sakes for our sins rose again the third day for our Justification ascended up into heaven after forty days and there is set down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high to make intercession for us and to make preparation there for our reception into the glorious Mansions and Eternal Habitations which are in the Fathers house He is called Jesus from the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth to save because he saveth his people from their sins Matth. 1. 21. He is called Christ from the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth to anoint he being anointed by the Father with the Spirit and with Power to be Mediator between God and Man to be the great Prophet and Priest and King of the Church This Jesus Christ Christians have not seen with the eye of sense indeed some Christians in the primitive times as the Apostles who were of his family and other disciples who conversed with him frequently did see Christ with the eye of sense but it was in his state of Humiliation when he was here upon the Earth not in his state of Exaltation now he is in Heaven yet some have seen Christ after his Ascention namely Paul at his conversion and Stephen the Proto Martyr before he dyed but none have had a perfect sight with bodily eyes of the Glory which is upon Christ's body the lustre of which is so great that none can behold it in this state of weakness and imperfection and live But whatever sight some Christians have had formerly no Christians now have a sight of Christ's Person they have heard of him with the hearing of the Ear but they have not seen him with the seeing of the Eye they have seen Representations of Christ in the Sacrament but they have never seen his Person that is represented they have seen his Image upon their Fellow-Christians but they have not seen the original from whom this Image hath been drawn Some Christians have been in Iudea and seen the place where the Lord lived and at Ierusalem and seen the place where the Lord dyed and Visited the place of his Sepulchre where the Lord for a time did lye and they have seen the Mount whence the Lord Ascended but no Christians now alive have been in Ierusalem and on Mount Sion which is above to see where the Lord now is in his Glory It is this Jesus Christ whom Christians have not seen that is the Object of their Love Section III. Thirdly Concerning the Love which True Christians do bear unto this unseen Christ. Love is the going forth of the Heart unto the Object Beloved and the Love which True Christians do bear unto Jesus Christ is a Grace wrought by the Spirit in their hearts whereby upon discovery and believing Apprehensions of Christs infinite Loveliness and Excellency his Matchless Love Grace and Mercy their Hearts do go forth towards him in Earnest desires after Union to him and Communion with him wherein they take chief Complacency and this accompanied with a yeilding and dedication of themselves unto his will and service 1. The Love of Christians unto Christ is a Grace wrought in their Hearts by the Spirit It is a Flower most Sweet and Fragrant but there is no Seed of it in the Nature of any Man since the Fall it is planted in the Soul by the Spirit of God Love to Christ is a Divine Spark that comes down from above a fire which is kindled by the breath of the Lord whose Essâ—nce is Love 2. The Ground of this Love to Christ is the discovery and believing Apprehensions of Christs Lovelinesse and Love There must be first a discovery of Christ as a sutable Object for Love and not a bare Notion of this but believing apprehensions of it that Christ is Infinitely lovely Superlatively Excellent and that his love is Matchless and Transcendent towards the Children of Men that there is a Treasury in him and a Storehouse of all Graces and the most Needfull and Rich Supplies otherwise there will be no going forth of the Heart in love unto him 3. The Actings of Christians love to Christ is in their desires after Vnion unto and Communion with Christ. It is the Nature of love to desire Union to the Object beloved especially of this love to Christ and this Union being attained the desires are after Communion with Christ Converse and Fellowship with him no Converse is so desirable as with the Persons whom we most dearly love and this Communion being attained there is chief Complacency therein the Soul doth sweetly rest and repose it self in Christ and rejoyceth in his presence and love 4. The Concomitant of this Love which True Christians have unto Christ is a yielding and dedication of themselves unto his will and Service Lovers do give themselves unto those whom they love this accompanieth the Marriage Union and such as love Christ they are Espoused and joyned unto Christ and they give themselves unto Christ to
to lawful things and it is of use to keep the Heart from unlawful and sinful loves if Christ have not your Hearts some base and foolish lusts will have them which will wound your Consciences with guilt and peirce your Hearts thorow with many sorrows 2. The love of Christ is useful in Adversity to bear up the Heart from sinking and being overwhelmed with the Winds and Waves of Trouble and Affliction it is of use to establish the Heart from being extraordinarily moved in the most Stormy times not only Faith but Love too is of a fixing nature to keep from amazing fears of evil tidings and the greatest perils and of a strengthning Nature to stay and support the Spirit and keep off pressing Griefs and despondencies in the darkest and most doleful days 3. The love of Christ is useful to quicken and excite unto duty this makes the yoke of Christ easie and will enable you to draw cheerfully therein this makes the burden of duâ—y so accounted by the most to be no burden in esteem if you have much love unto Christ you will account duty to be your priviledge and the Service of Christ to be freedome and none of his commands will be grievous but all of them joyous unto you if you have much love unto Chriâ—t your Hearts will be ensiamed hereby with zeal for your Masters Glory and you will never think you can do too much for him 4. The love of Christ is useful to arm you against Temptations If Faith be a Shield Love to Chriâ—t is a Breaâ—-plaâ—e against the sharpest Darts which the Devil can throw at you â—ove to Christ doth Garrison your Hearts against this Enemy and is a strong defence against any overtures which the Devil may make in his Temptations to draw you to sin how can I do this evil and offend my dear Lord will be the answer of love to repel temptations to sin whatever alluring proffers they be accompanied withal Temptations will have no force to prevail over you if this love of Christ be strong within you 5. The love of Christ is useful to fit you for the cross and the greatest sufferings which you may be called unto for the sake of Christ. If you have great love to Christ you will be ready to suffer for Christ with patience and with 〈…〉 the heaviest cross will seem light disgrace and shame will be accounted honour losses will be esteemed gains pains pleasures or at least priviledges prisons will seem Pallaces and death will be accounted life O how have some run to the stake and embraced the Flames of Fire kindled to burn them when they have felt the fire of love to Christ burning strongly within them thus this love is usefull in Life 6. The love of Christ is useful at death This love in its strength will put a beauty upon the Aspect of death which seems so grim and terrible unto the most If you have much love to Christ you will look upon death as Christs messenger sent for you to bring you out of the dark Prison of of the World and the Body and to convey you into the Mansions of Glory where your dear Lord is and you will not be unwilling to leave the World that you may live with Christ. 8. Consider the sweetness of this love unto Christ. If there be sweetness in the love of the Members there is much more sweetness in the love of the head if there be delight and comfort in the love of Christs disciples for their Masters sake there is much more delight and comfort in the love of Christ himself the Master for his own sake the Apostle telleth us of comfort in love Phillip 2. 1. that is in the love one of another but the consolations in the love of Christ are far exceeding there are no such sweet motions of Heart as those of the strong and fervent outgoings of it in its love to Christ especially when Christ doth draw near and manifest his love unto the Soul Christ doth rejoice in his love unto his Disciples and they may rejoice in their love to him and this joy in the love of Christ is a full joy Iohn 15. 11. These things have I spoken unto you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full in the former verse Christ speaketh of his love to them and here of his joy in them they were the objects of his joy as they were the objects of his love and according to the measure and strength of their love to Christ so is the fulness of their joy in Christ. Cant. 4. 9. Thou hast ravished my heart my Sister my Spouse thou hast ravished my Heart with one of thine Eyes with one chain of thy neck they are the words of Christ the Beloved unto his Spouse the Church expressing the ravishing delight which he found in her Looks of Faith or glances of Love and the chain of Graces which she was adorned withall How then may your Hearts be ravished with unspeakable delight in looking upon Christs most amiable face and in the fervent actings of your love unto him when a glance of his Eye a smile a beam from his countenance doth enkindle a fire in the breast and this fire of love to Christ doth burn and flame O how sweet is this flame beyond what tongue is able to express 9 And lastly Consider the Attainableness of this love to Chrâ—â—t Bâ—uâ—ts are not capable of this love to Chriâ—t but you are capable as your minds are capable of knowing him so your hearts are capable of loving him Others have attained this love who were as much without it and as much averse unto it as any of you may be Here you are capable hereafter if you live and dye without it you will be utterly uncapabâ—e You have now the means of Grace and as of other Graces so of this Grace of love to Christ in the diligent use of the means you may attain there unto Thus I have done with the Motives to excite you unto the love of Christ. SECT XV. THe second thing propounded in the Prosecution of the use of Exhortation was to give Directions and the directions will be of two sorts 1. How to attain this love to Christ. 2. Wherein to show this love to Christ. First How to attain this love to Christ and here I shall 1. Direct you how you may attain this love to Christ in the truth of it where you are wholly without it 2. Direct you how to attain much of this love to Christ where you have it but in a low degree and weak measure The first directions then shall be how you that are Graceless and Christless and wholly withoâ—t this love to Christ may at-this love to Christ. 1. If you would attain this love unto Jesus Christ whom you have never seen you must get a thorow peâ—swasion that there is such a Person aâ— Jesus Christ and that he is such a Person indeed as the
had the Manifestations of thy Love would not my love grow and encrease hereby Should I not love the more dearly and strongly if I had clear discoveries and were perswaded assuredly of thy love unto me Truth Lord I am altogether unworthy of such a favour but didst thou ever bestow this favour upon any for their deserts are not all thy Gifts free and am not I as capable as any of Free-grace the more unworthy the more I shall admire thee the more is forgiven I shall love the more And may I not now have a taste of thy Loving kindness Hasten my Beloved O hasten unto me and be as a Roe upon the Mountains of Spices Do not veil thy face from me any longer do not conceal thy love but now O now draw near and make me exceeding glad in the light of thy Countenance and in the beauty of thy Face and smiles thereof Such desires and pleadings as these might prevail with the Lord forthwith to return again unto you and to say Well Soul I have heard thy Prayer thy breathing and thy cry thy pleadings have prevâ—â—ed with me and I am now come unto thee and be it to thee according to thy Desires Come Soul and look up lift up thine eyes and see Here I am Behold me Behold me this day I am come to bring glad tydings of great Ioy unto thee I assure thee that I am thine and all mine is thine and thou art mine and shalt be mine for ever And what words can found so sweet and yield such comfort as these or such like spoken by the Spirit unto the hearts of those from whom Christ is withdrawn SECT VIII Vse 3. THe Third Use doth concern you that do love Christ and have the Manifestations of his Love to your Souls Three things be exhorted unto 1. Rejoyce in the Lord. 2. Admire his Free Grace 3. Labour to retain these Manifestations 1. You that have the Manifestations of the Love of Christ Rejoyce in the Lord of all Persons in the world you have most reason to rejoyce you are the happiest men and women alive It is not Wealth in the greatest abundance which can make men happy the richest Persons have often thorns of the greatest discontent to pierce their hearts and Stings of the greatest guilt to wound their Consciences It is not the highest Honour and worldly Dignity which can make men happy the vilest men are often exalted and those that are in the Highest places are in the most Slippery places from whence they are soon cast down into destruction and whatever security they have in Life yet they are usually consumed utterly with Terrours when grim Death doth appear and summon them to depart It is not the sweetest sensual Delight which can make men happy Vanity is the Attendant and Vexâ—tion of Spirit is the Consequent of all those pleasures that are sensual and sinfull which are the seed also of Pain and Everlasting torment Such onely can be said to be happy in truth as are really united and related unto Jesus Christ and through him reconciled unto God and entituled unto the Kingdom of Heaven but you are the most happy and have reason to take the most comfort who have not onely Relation unto Christ but also the Manifestations of him who know that Christ is yours and you are his that Christ loveth you and that his Love as it had no beginning so it is without changing and will know no ending If you know that Christ loveth you you have reason to rejoyce because hereby you may know assuredly that you are Elected that God by an eternal and unchangeable Decree hath chosen you when he hath chosen so few of fallen Men and none of the fallen Angels and when there was not the least foreseen Motive to induce him hereunto the assurance of this may yield unexpressible sweetness unto you If you know that Christ loveth you you may know assuredly your Effectual Calling Conversion and wonderfull Union unto Christ and O what matter of Joy is it to think how God hath called you out of Darkness into his marvellous Light how he hath delivered you out of the Snare of the Devil and the bonds of your own Lusts and set your Souls at liberty how he hath wrought a Miracle in your first Resurrection from the Grave and spiritual death of Sin put forth the same power in your New Creation change of your Natures as in his first Creation of the World how he hath dissolved and made a divorce between your hearts and your sins and so wonderfully United and espoused you unto the Lord Jesus and by this Conjunction and Relation given you an Interest in all the Priviledges which Christ hath purchased If you know that Christ doth love you you mâ—y know assuredly that you are Justified through his Merits and Mediation and O what matter of Joy is this to think that all your sins Original and Actual are pardoned that none can lay any sin to your charge because God hath justified you that there is none that shall condemn you because Christ hath loved you and out of Love hath dyed for you and is now making Intercession for you at the right hand of God Rom. 8. 33 34. to be acquitted from all Guilt and no more lyable unto future wrath than if you had never offended and when you had no Righteousness of your own to be accepted as perfectly Righteous in the sight of God through the Imputation of Christ's perfect Righteousness Who have reason to rejoyce if you have not reason If you know that Christ loveth you you may assuredly say that you are the Sons and Daughters of the Lord Almighty and will you not rejoyce when of Children of the Devil Children of Disobedience Children of Wrath you are made the Children of God the Glorious Jehovah that is the Supream Sovereign and King of the whole World and when you have not an empty Name onely but are intituled to all the Priviledges of his Children If you know that Christ doth love you you may know assuredly that he will keep alive his Interest in you preserve his Grace in your hearts and enable you to persevere in Faith and Holiness notwithstanding all the alluring Temptations which you may meet withall in the World notwithstanding all the Suggestions and Oppositions of Sathan and notwithstanding all the powerfull workings of your remaining lusts and corruptions all which do combine together and use all their power and policy which is great to extirpate your Grace to draw you unto sin to entice or force you out of the wayes of God and O what matter of comfort is it that the Lord Jesus who loveth you hath undertaken for you to keep you in his hand and by his unseen but mighty power to enable you to resist and overcome to hold on in his wayes and hold out unto the end so that you may triumph with the Apostle and say as Rom. 8. 35 37. Who shall